A federal district court in Colorado has ruled that National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA, was not obligated to reimburse Scottsdale Insurance Company for a portion of the $4.35 million that Scottsdale had contributed to the settlement of an underlying lawsuit against Northwest Construction Company.  

The Case 

The underlying lawsuit involved the construction

A federal district court in Ohio has ruled that a reservation of rights letter that a homeowner’s insurance carrier sent to its insureds after a second fire at their home was timely.  

The Case 

State Farm Fire & Casualty Company issued a homeowner’s insurance policy to Mark and Brenda Gibney that contained a “Concealment or

A federal district court in Michigan was asked to consider whether certain expenses incurred by the insured fell within the definition of “cleanup costs” required by governmental regulation resulting from a release of contaminants into the ground from scheduled storage tank systems. 

The Case

After H & M Petro Mart discovered a “release” of contaminants

A court has ruled that claims that an insured engaged in a conspiracy to falsely accuse her former husband of child sex abuse were not covered by her insurance policy because they did not constitute an “occurrence” and because claims for emotional distress damages were not for “bodily injury.”  

The Case 

A woman who was

Are excess insurers obligated to indemnify a religious institution for a negligence-based claim? A federal district court in Missouri has determined that there was no coverage in these circumstances.  

The Case 

The plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of St. Louis and Archbishop Robert J. Carlson alleged that a former priest and employee of

Several years ago, employees of Broward County, Florida, who enrolled in the county’s group health plan became eligible to participate in a new employee wellness program sponsored by Broward’s group health insurer, Coventry Healthcare. The employee wellness program consisted of two components: a biometric screening, which entailed a finger stick for glucose and cholesterol, and

The Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, Benjamin Lawsky, has issued an emergency regulation that may make it easier to bar health care providers ? temporarily and permanently ? who are suspected of engaging in no-fault insurance fraud from demanding payments from insurance carriers for services they claim to have provided. If

“Residence Premises” Raises Question Of Fact Under Circumstances

Insureds purchased a home and began renovating it before moving in. The home was destroyed by fire and the insurer disclaimed coverage because the home was unoccupied and did not quality as a “residence premises.” New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled that there

The efforts of policyholders involved in coverage litigation with insurance companies to discover insurer files often leads to extensive and complex litigation. In a recent case, however, a plaintiff seeking disability benefits saw his discovery motion doomed because of something rather basic:  His failure to comply with two local court rules.  

Thomas Neilson filed a

As more and more restaurant servers go to court to try to recover wages, tips, or other benefits that they contend have been unlawfully withheld by their employers, there are more and more insurance coverage claims relating to these actions.  Recently, for example, a federal district court in Massachusetts found that claims that a club

A decision by a Colorado appellate court, as a matter of first impression, finding that a repair vendor was a “first-party claimant” where it sued an insurer on behalf of its insured seems to expand the definition of “first-party claimant” – and could lead to an increase in the number of plaintiffs suing insurance companies.  

A case in which a court found that commercial general liability policies did not provide coverage for economic losses stemming from a breach of contract also had some interesting things to say about reservation of rights letters.  

The plaintiff in litigation stemming from a construction project alleged that the insured defendants refused to pay for

Suppose an insurer provides a defense to an insured and settles the claim over the insured’s objection. Suppose the insured refuses to pay the deductible and the insurer sues for breach of contract. If the insurer obtains a judgment against the insured, is the insurer entitled to prejudgment interest? 

That was the issue in the

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) makes it unlawful for any person within the United States to use any fax machine, computer, or other device to send unsolicited advertisements to another fax machine. The TCPA creates a private right of action and permits recipients of unwanted fax advertisements to obtain damages – including statutory damages

An appellate court in Pennsylvania has rejected two insureds’ contentions that “advertising” included solicitation or marketing presented to an individual or group for the purpose of gaining their business, adopting the arguments presented by Rivkin Radler on behalf of the insurance carriers.

In this case, an insurance broker brought suit against a former employee and